RAMMB/CIRA researchers develop simulated GOES-R satellite products for distribution to National Weather Service (NWS) Forecast Offices as part of the advanced satellite application training program of the GOES-R Proving Ground. Operational deployment of the NWS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System II (AWIPS II) is proceeding in Weather Service Forecast Offices and National Centers throughout the U.S. The standalone version of AWIPS II has been modified to support the RAMMB/CIRA research environment. A real-time AWIPS II data ingest and display system is installed in the RAMMB/CIRA Weather Lab so that researchers can demonstrate new products along-side the real-time data that forecasters use in order to better understand how those products can be utilized in the forecast environment. Other AWIPS II workstations at RAMMB/CIRA provide development platforms for the different display perspectives available in the AWIPS II open perspective Common AWIPS Visualization Environment (CAVE). Development workstations also support software development using the AWIPS II Application Development Environment (ADE). Software development projects currently underway focus on utilization of the true 24 bit image display capabilities of AWIPS II to provide simulated GOES-R era RGB products in both the D2D and National Centers display perspectives.

Supporting in-house AWIPS II real-time ingest/display, software development capabilities, real-time experimental product distribution to Forecast Offices, and providing training for RAMMB/CIRA staff in the still-under-development AWIPS II environment provides many challenges. The presentation will focus on some of the ways those challenges are being addressed.